Chapter 429: Chapter 428: Stam, I’m Your Fan
If being scolded would lead to improvement, the world wouldn’t have so many Feng Tes.
Feng Te is currently at the level of a substitute for a powerhouse in the Portuguese league; if he could defend against players like Pippo Inzaghi, Mendieta, and Popovski, would he still need to be the group owner of Deng Kai’s global fan support group?
He could totally set up a Feng Te global fan support club instead.
Never expect, never be disappointed.
Deng Kai has no demands of Feng Te.
This treatment has left substitutes like Maicon, Evra, and Reina envious to tears.
They’ve seen how angry Master Kai can get with Ronaldo, Matthaus, and Guardiola.
Master Kai is truly a person who remembers old loyalties, never mistreating those who work for him.
If we also became managers of the support group, would that mean Master Kai wouldn’t scold us, either?
...
When the match resumed, despite Lazio taking the lead, the scene of "scoring three goals in quick succession" that the fans were looking forward to did not happen.
Instead, Sporting Lisbon controlled the ball for a while, calmly dictating the pace of the game.
This was different from the Sporting Lisbon they saw the last time they faced off.
"It’s Deng Kai!" Mihajlovic, known as the king of set pieces, mused, "He’s helping his teammates adjust the pace; under his orchestration, even players positioned further forward like Kaka and Yaya Tu Lei are getting involved in receiving and passing the ball."
"It’s sapping our enthusiasm for pushing forward after scoring, helping the teammates find their touch, and bringing the tempo down."
Salas nodded in agreement, "If he’s a good midfielder, he should soon think of ways to send the ball straight to the front. There are quite a few midfielders who can think of this, but not many can actually do it."
Mihajlovic looked at Salas, as if to say, you’ve faced him when you were at Inter Milan, do you think he can do it?
Salas: "He’s very good at this kind of passing, but... we have Nesta and Stam."
Bang!
Salas had hardly finished speaking.
In the field, Deng Kai received a pass from Tu Lei and without stopping the ball, lofted a direct through pass into the penalty area.
Drogba rushed forward quickly, engaging in a fierce contest with Stam.
But Stam was simply too strong, physically overpowering Drogba to the point that the ball just rolled out of bounds.
Drogba, frustrated, turned to walk back, not forgetting to give a thumbs-up to Master Kai.
Deng Kai nodded at Drogba, signaling "Good run, keep it up next time".
This is the positive on-field communication between players.
Many thoughts and ideas must be expressed; this is more reliable than any tactic.
Many brilliant combinations, especially, require verbal guidance to coordinate.
In the 15th minute, Sporting Lisbon made a strong comeback.
As Kaka dropped back, Deng Kai suddenly accelerated, calling out, "To me!"
Kaka passed the ball with perfect timing and, after passing, continued to move forward himself.
Bang!
"Again! Here here here..."
Deng Kai received the ball and played a one-touch wall pass, then continued his forward run without any hesitation.
Following Deng Kai, Mendieta was instantly left behind.
Bang!
Kaka caught up to the ball and made another timed pass.
The two executed three quick passes in a short span of time.
Simeone lunged towards Deng Kai from the side.
Stam made a snap decision and lunged out as well.
Bang!
Almost as soon as Stam started moving, Deng Kai immediately chipped the ball over, completing another overhead through pass.
Given Stam’s height and wide defensive range, if he got close to Deng Kai, he might not be confident of making the pass.
After all, this is one of the current best central defenders in the world.
Similarly, Deng Kai had confidence in Ronaldo’s speed.
Delaying the pass slightly, gave Ronaldo a better chance to create a clear opportunity.
But now, it should be alright, shouldn’t it?
Bang!
The ball flew out of play, a throw-in.
Nesta tackled the ball out of bounds before Ronaldo could get to it.
"Simeone, don’t let that Deng Kai have too much space to play. When he’s looking for support, you need to help Mendieta!" Nesta, after clearing the ball, commanded the defense line, completely unconcerned with Ronaldo’s threatening look.
Ronaldo was annoyed.
It was so close!
Once he got the position, he could try to shoot.
At this distance, he was very confident of scoring.
Similarly, Deng Kai was also communicating with his teammates, "Ronaldo! It’s only the 15th minute, but the speed of your run made me think the match was already in the 85th minute!"
"Can you go full throttle, please? This is Nesta, one of the best central defenders in Italy who even made the fans forget Baresi! Are you sure you still want to take off in first gear?"
"Promise me, next time you get a chance, floor it, will you!"
"Kaka, well done, your pass is very comfortable. But if you had continued your run just now, with Nesta drawn away by Ronaldo, the left side of the penalty area would have been open."
"Even if Pan Karo moved over, he would be on your outside, to the left. And on the right, all that space is yours to play the ball..."
Kaka nodded repeatedly, "I get your point, I’ll try to break into that area."
Ronaldo was speechless.
Isn’t the difference in attitude a bit too obvious?
Is this the difference between the new love and the old flame?
Deng Kai: No, this is just the difference between Party A and Party B.
Just as speechless as Ronaldo was Stam, staring at Deng Kai but being ignored.
Stam found out the kid’s passing was really sneaky, quite irritating for defenders.
"Stam, I’m your fan. Remember the Champions League that year? Could I get your autographed football after the match?" Deng Kai approached Stam like a fanboy meeting his idol.
It has to be said, Stam was a bit flattered.
After all, Deng Kai was shortlisted for this year’s Golden Ball award, the six-title MVP king, my fan, quite an honor!
"Stam! Come back, come back quickly!"
Nesta’s voice shattered Stam’s fantasy.
He broke out in a cold sweat.
Damn!
The throw-in is about to be taken.
This kid is too crafty!
Stam hurried back.
He would forever remember the look of regret on Deng Kai’s face as he ran back to his defensive position.
It was as if Deng Kai never got his autograph!
Kai, we were all part of Manchester United’s treble-winning team, there is a bond between us.
Are you freaking trying to get me killed!
How is this any different from those students buying autographed footballs online for a low price?
They’re listed at two hundred euros, and you ask if I’ll sell for five, do you even have to ask?
Forget saying you’re a student, even animals wouldn’t make such an offer!
What?
Guardiola’s?
Oh, then we can talk!
Stam swore that he would never sign a football for Deng Kai again in his life.
Again?
Yes, back in United’s ninety-nine treble year, Stam was unfortunate enough to have given Deng Kai a few signatures.
No member of that United squad was spared.
...
In the twenty-third minute, Sporting renewed their attack.
After conceding a goal, they took complete control of the game.
This had to do with Deng Kai’s tactical adjustments.
And it also related to the prevalent ’one-nil-ism’ in Italy.
For Italian teams, sometimes one goal was already a victory.
Because their defense was so good, it was hard for them to concede a goal.
Kaka tried to make a breakthrough on the left wing with the ball but didn’t find a good opportunity.
Ronaldo went up to support Kaka.
After passing the ball to Ronaldo, Kaka made a direct run forward without the ball.
Pan Karo was shaken off by Kaka, but the seasoned defender immediately blocked the passing lane from Ronaldo to Kaka.
Ronaldo could only pass sideways to Deng Kai, who was in the attacking midfield position.
However, Kaka’s movements were agile, as if he had never expected Ronaldo to get the ball out to him, given what everyone knows about Ronaldo’s passing ability from the stats.
This season so far, Ronaldo has scored more than ten goals, with an efficiency close to one goal per match, but as for assists... well, those who know, know.
Deng Kai: ???
So Kaka chose a very aggressive off-the-ball run directly into the box.
This essentially cut off the possibility of Ronaldo passing him the ball.
But...
That meant there was an extra passing option for Deng Kai in the box.
Deng Kai’s passing ability... as I said, those who know, know!
Lazio’s defenders were thrown into disarray at the time.
Nesta was forced to move to the right to limit Kaka.
Bang!
Deng Kai passed the ball!
But it had nothing to do with Kaka.
The football still found Drogba.
Shoot!
He took aim at Stam and shot!
